We Survived the Weather

Now hear I go and worry about the economy when what I really need to worry about is the weather. Here's one of the hail stones that landed in my back yard last night heralding our normal late winter tornado season.

Armaggedon is over

After 9/11, we followed some crazy government advice and stockpiled some food, water and other supplies. We never went so far as to get a gas mask, bolts of plastic wrap and duct tape but we did think about having at least a few days supply in case of stormy weather which is quite common in Atlanta. Slowly, we used up our supplies and I thought all was gone until my husband brought up some cans of corned beef hash last week.

Well, with the current economy, I thought I would cook some corned beef hash patties for dinner. The last time I ate corned beef patties was about 30 years ago early in our marriage when true famine loomed at the end of every month as we awaited my husband's pay check. It was not unknown at the time for us to search in the couch cushions to find enough change to put gas in the car. (Of course this was before $2 gallon gas when 10 cents could go a long way.) So tonight I went to open one of the cans and read "Best used by Oct. 2007". It being Feb. 2009, it made me pause.

When Jeff called to say he was on his way home, I said, "Before you go I have one question. Should we eat the hash if it is out of date?" His response? "That stuff, like Spam, is made to last forever. However, I don't feel Armaggedon is looming so toss it and cook something else."

So tonight we had chicken cordon bleu, a glass of cheap shiraz and toasted the end of Armaggedon....at least for this week. After all, I did note that stocks had dropped again today and my 401K has bottomed out. It makes the Publix sale on canned soup enticing for stocking up . With these new-fangled pop-tops on soup, it makes for easy opening when awaiting the end of the world.

I Feel Like A Millionaire

My husband read this book called "The Millionaire Next Door." Basically, it said those who had assets of a million or more rarely lived conspiculously but drove older cars, did not live in mcmansions, and frequently shopped at Walmart. Well, if shopping at Walmart means you are a millionaire, count me in. We shop every couple of weeks at our local Walmart, stocking up on essentials and dry goods. I don't get meat or produce there as I can find better quality (and sales) at my local Publix. However, whenever we shop at Walmart and we find some cheap new thing, my husband exclaims, "I feel like a millionaire." In order to enhance our happy glow, we now combine lunch out with our Walmart excursion. There is a McDonald's in our Walmart and while hubby is checking out, I run over and buy something off their dollar menu. Usually I get myself a plain hamburger (.79) and my husband gets a double cheeseburger (1.19). While we eat our lunch in the parking lot, we grin and feel we have really joined the ranks of the elite.

How Low Will We Go?

One of our local evening news programs has a new series titled something like "How to Survive in a Recession" but it is more oriented to mass starvation and total anarchy. Last night they highlighted a woman who can make leftovers into all sorts of soup. The low point was when she demonstrated how to add chicken broth to lasagne for a great "noodle soup". She also added some salad greens to the soup for extra nutrition. I am not sure I want to ever reach the point where I add chicken broth to about anything. Wouldn't the lasagne be better just heated in the microwave with a little side salad? I think my next purchase will be a shovel so I can dig a hole in the backyard to live in.

Here's my favorite lentil soup recipe:

1 lb stew meat (or ham)

small onion chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 lb lentils (rinsed)

1 can tomatoes (can use the basil and olive oil or plain)

1 tsp of Italian herbs (basil, oregano)

Salt/Pepper to taste

Parsley (optional)

Brown the stew meat, onion and celery. Add the chicken broth and slowly simmer the meat for an hour or more. (If using leftover ham, you can skip the simmering of the meat). Add the lentils, tomatoes and herbs to taste. Simmer for 30 - 45 minutes until the lentils are done. Add a handful of chopped parsley and stir. Ready to serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread.

Birdwatching: Inexpensive (mostly) entertainment

One of my hobby's is birdwatching which is relatively inexpense compared to the hours of enjoyment daily. I started with one nice feeder that I bought for my husband - the squirrel flinger. I actually bought it because we thought it would be amusing to watch squirrels fly. However, the squirrels are a bit smarter than that, though they do try and get to the food.

Now we have several feeder stations in the yard and I have put bird baths outside my kitchen window. We get tons of birds throughout the year. Right now, we have our year round buddies, the chickadees, wood peckers, tufted titmice, house finches, cardinals, blue jays and Carolina wrens but our seasonal visitors this month are goldfinches and pine siskens. They particularly like the nuts and berry bird seed and we are going through several 10 lb. sacks a week.

My most unusual visitors this year were the flock of turkeys that ranged in my back yard over the summer.

Getting Ready

As the economic recession gets deeper, I find myself saving and hoarding. I have become addicted to Publix "penny sale" every Sunday. It becomes my BDO (big day out). I wait with anticipation each week to see what the mystery coupon will bring. Today it was Publix brand coffee. Not bad at a savings of about $3.50 and I drink a lot of coffee while pouring over the days latest economic bad news.

I also find I am making sure things in my fridge get used up and not tossed. For example, on Friday I had half a green pepper that needed to get used and a couple of chicken breasts that needed to be rotated out of the freezer. I stir-fried the green pepper with onion and some red curry, tossed in the chicken cut in chunks and added some coconut milk, and little bit of fish sauce (soy would work, too) and had a nice chicken red curry. I also had some portobellow mushrooms that needed to be used so I sauteed them with some onion in olive oil, threw in a cup of brown rice and added two cups of chicken broth. Once it was boiling, I transferred it to a casserole dish and threw it in the oven for 45 - 50 minutes at 350 degrees and got a nice brown rice dish which is a favorite at our house (courtesy of Joy of Cooking). So, not only did I make sure I used up some of the vegetables in our crisper but I also got a healthy, high fiber meal that I could sneak under my husbands nose.